SEO & Generative Search Lead

GLIDE, a values-first digital creative agency based in Austin, Texas is looking for an SEO Lead to run our SEO/GEO practice and lead the team behind it. This role is full-time.

ABOUT THE JOB

As SEO Lead, you’ll own how our clients are discovered, not just by traditional search engines, but by ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, and whatever comes next. You’ll set the strategy, build the team’s playbooks, and make sure the work going out the door is sharp.

This role combines individual strategic ownership with people leadership. You’ll carry your own client relationships and sprint work, and you’ll also manage the SEO/GEO team: setting standards, reviewing output, developing your people, and shaping how the practice grows.

We’re looking for someone who thinks beyond rankings and traffic, who can translate a fast-moving search landscape into a clear roadmap for clients, and who wants to build a team, not just execute a checklist.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Client Partnership & Strategic Collaboration

• Act as the senior point of contact for our largest or most complex SEO/GEO clients, building trust through clear communication and proactive recommendations.
• Work as an extension of clients’ marketing teams, aligning SEO/GEO strategy with their broader business goals.
• Lead performance discussions and present results in an accessible, insight-driven way, with dashboards and clear next steps.
• Translate the evolving SEO/GEO landscape into a value proposition clients actually understand.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop the SEO/GEO team: set workload, review quality, and support skill growth.
• Build the shared process and documentation for the team (unified Asana structure, playbooks, sprint methodology) so client work is consistent across team members rather than run independently by each specialist.
• Stay billable on your own accounts while managing the team. This isn’t a pure people-management role; it’s a working lead, the same model used when a senior contributor was elevated to lead on the delivery side.
• Partner with the search team lead on hiring, onboarding, and capacity planning for the practice.
• Own the SEO/GEO service offering roadmap, evolving it as search itself evolves.

SEO Strategy & Implementation

• Conduct comprehensive audits (technical, content, backlink, on-page) and turn findings into a prioritized roadmap.
• Run the Blueprint SEO Sprint methodology across client accounts, delivering focused outcomes sprint over sprint.
• Oversee on-page optimization: metadata, internal linking, schema, technical fixes, keyword strategy, crawl and indexation, intent alignment, SERP analysis.
• Collaborate with developers and designers to build SEO best practices into site structure, UX, and CMS decisions.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

• Research and apply emerging practices for AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and Perplexity.
• Adapt strategy for how AI-generated summaries rank and select sources: structured data, authoritative content, and answerability.
• Optimize for inclusion in AI-generated snippets, knowledge panels, and contextual previews.
• Shape GEO as a forward-facing service offering as the space matures.

Analytics & Reporting

• Set up and manage GA4 and GTM for conversion tracking, custom events, and analytics flows across client and team accounts.
• Build and maintain reporting dashboards that highlight performance, opportunities, and next steps.
• Tie metrics back to business outcomes, not just rankings or traffic.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE + KNOWLEDGE

• 5-8+ years in SEO strategy and execution, including technical audits and sprint-based work.
• At least 1-2 years leading, mentoring, or managing other SEO practitioners.
• Direct experience with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to think beyond traditional SEO toward how content surfaces across modern discovery tools.
• Tools: Google Search Console, GA4, GTM, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, Looker Studio (or equivalent).
• Google Ads certification is a plus, especially paired with organic visibility strategy.
• Strong communication skills, both with clients and with a team you’re developing.
• Experience in a client-facing role within a remote, fast-paced, agile environment.

WHY WE’LL LOVE YOU

You say “Hell Yeah!” when reading our core values:

• Build meaningful relationships – You see every day as an opportunity to grow and inspire and celebrate others.
• Love what you do – You do it for the love of the craft and the process and because work excites you.
• Better every day – You’d rather live in the stretch zone than the comfort zone. Trying new things is the only way to grow.
• Deliver faithfully – You set clear and realistic expectations for yourself and others. Then you follow through.
• Enjoy the Journey – You embrace the adventure, celebrate the small wins, and find joy in the process, not just the outcome.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE US

Here’s a few reasons we think you’ll love working at GLIDE:

1. Purpose – Unrelenting focus on our core purpose to help people who help others
2. Freedom – Freedom of time, location and work hours to balance your work/life
3. People – Collaboration with kind-hearted, humble, and talented “A” players
4. Remote – Work from anywhere, travel the world, be FREE to roam!
5. Balance – We never ask people to work nights, weekends or holidays
6. Growth – We encourage, recognize, and support employee career development
7. Culture – Daily, weekly, quarterly and annual cultural activities
8. Recognition – 2000+ encouraging Slack posts of specific recognition yearly
9. G-Labs – Core GLIDE initiative to collaborate, innovate and make a better world
10. Strategy – We communicate big picture, annual and quarterly goals regularly

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

For over 20 years, our desire to help people who help others remains true. For that reason, GLIDE has always sought to work with startups, nonprofits, and difference makers—all passionate, all wanting to do amazing things. It’s about giving great ideas and great organizations the exposure they deserve through delightful online digital experiences that are beautiful, useful, and produce lasting value.

We attribute our success and well-being to working with other passionate folks, choosing projects that everyone can rally behind and fanatically embracing open source platforms like WordPress. Whether it’s a nonprofit that distributes care boxes to cancer patients or a devilishly good taco maker, GLIDE has had the privilege and honor to work with truly beloved brands like Yeti Coolers, Torchy’s Tacos, iFLY, H.E. Butt Foundation, RetailMeNot, National Breast Cancer Foundation, WP Engine, and many more.

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time role for candidates based in the U.S. For candidates outside the U.S., we structure this as a 1099 independent contractor engagement at equivalent scope and hours. The compensation range for this role is $75k–$80k, depending on experience, skills, and geographic location.

LOCATION

We’re prioritizing candidates that are based in the Western Hemisphere and working in our core hours of 10 AM – 2 PM CT to ensure availability for client meetings and active collaboration. You should be fluent in English and have a strong wifi signal to support Zoom video chats with our team.

INCLUSION

We celebrate our diversity, of nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, lifestyle, location, and more. We believe a variety of backgrounds, experiences and voices make for a better workplace. We strongly encourage people of color, individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, women, and people with disabilities to apply.

No agencies or recruiters please.